Friday, February 15, 2013

Why I despise Catholicism and those who keep it alive

In the wake of the Pope’s resignation the internet has been a buzz. Most of the commentaries are decrying the trespasses of the Church under and before Benedict’s reign, and those who defend their Catholic connection, if not the Church itself. The following particularly caught my eye: ”I am Catholic and I share your fury over the abuses that have happened and the cover ups. I choose not to throw the baby out with the bath water. All TRUE Catholics abhor these crimes as much as you...

For me, my church is about shared worship as a community, the service to fellow man we provide--our ministry to Haiti and Appalachia, sheltering local homeless, food drives for our food banks, counseling for the grieving and less fortunate, etc. For me, my church is not represented by its worst actors.”

I responded:So, you pick and choose what you like and don't like about the Catholic Church, then put it on a mental scale and it always comes out in favor of Catholicism. Got it.

Charitable works can be, and are, done by many without the belief in dead man-god bodies coming to life in your Sunday cracker & wine snack. Charity can and is done without telling ignorant 3rd world sheep that condoms spread AIDS. In fact, that is the antithesis of charity.

Charity and community doesn’t need institutionalized abuse of children, where the hierarchy maintains a code of silence. It doesn't have to be invested in the oppression of women, or male fixation with women's genitalia or reproductive rights; or at the expense of condemning people for who they love and with whom they are simply seeking happiness.The list of atrocities and misdeeds of the Church far out weighs the old "but look at all the charitable works" bromide that Catholic lay people love to use to justify supporting, and thus encouraging, the grotesque behavior of a defunct body of misogynist shaman. No, it seems you’re in way deeper than your appreciation of charity and community.

You can't make peace with or thank your god thing without some multi-billion dollar cabal telling you it has to be done thru the auspices of THEIR hierarchy?

You need a man in a black suit and backward collar as a go between to hear your "sins" and forgive you? Really? A guy who may have just diddled a kid, or hid the acts of his fellow priests from authorities? A human who is no closer to, or more worthy of, your god’s grace than are you?You need to pretend a cracker and some wine actually become the living tissues of a human body when you cannibalistically eat them- with cells, DNA and bodily fluids; or that incense purifies the air and is pleasing to your god; or that the body parts of centuries old dead people deserve to be revered and possess mystical powers; that demons are more real than mental illness and must be exorcised by medieval ritual gibberish; or that the organization's accumulation of vast wealth & treasure often derived from governments who enslaved and murdered, is necessary to dress Church officers in gold and silk costumes, provide them with an opulent palatial dwelling, chauffer driven cars, and butlers? You can overlook the fact that not a single Nazi war criminal, or single priest child molester, or a single Bishop or Cardinal who covered up abuse has been excommunicated, while a nun hospital administrator was excommunicated for saving the life of a mother whose fetus was going to die in the labor room with or without the abortion she approved … all because of these "charitable works" and the community it offers? Seriously?

If you were a member of a fraternal organization like the Elks, and if their hierarchy did these things- knowingly - would you still proudly call yourself an Elk, still pay the dues, still identify with them, and still participate in the activities because of their charitable good deeds and the community it offers? I think not. But when it comes to your religion, the pathetic deep seated delusion and addiction to absurd rituals and rites cloaked in magic and superstition your inability or unwillingness to extricate yourself from the mystery cult is stronger than your personal ethics, common sense, and sense of morality.

It's the nice people like you, moderate -liberal practicing Catholics, who keep this den of disgust and abuse propped up and functional instead of letting it fade into the obscurity and trash heap of history it so well deserves. You get the church you deserve. Wallow in it.

19 comments:

I have been waiting for your response to the Pope bullshit, Bart, and you did not disappoint! It is so annoying how much time the mainstrea, media gives to this "unprecedented" and "historical" act--of a religious leader quitting, getting out while the gettin's good--as though he's a world leader with some kind of objective credibility. OK, so he has his own nation with unbelievable wealth and power, and has tremendous influence on the life, health, and prospects of millions of people... but that's not the angle that's being examined. It's disgusting.

Honestly, I'd be ashamed to call myself Catholic. One can only hope that after the current elderly Catholics die off, the pews will begin to gather dust, the baskets will remain empty, and we can close the doors on this horrible institution.

Sue:Thanks. Yes, the the main stream media prefers to give lip service to the uniquness of the resignation and stay away from the reems of evidenmce for the chruch's trespasses. I imagine they figure no sense in alienating a large segment of thweir viewing/reading audience. The reent film about the Vatican gorss abuses of children "Mea Culpa maxima" on cable was one of the best exposures of the filthy underbelly of the Church I've ever seen. It is getting alot of play..thankfully.

Grislte:Thanks. Sure send this link to every Catholicyou know..but be prepared for a deluge of denial and apologetics and charges of "bigotry." They have no apetite for this kind of indictment...let the facts be damned. The Church will indeed eventually collapse under the weight of its own corruption. I just wish it would hurry up.

It is well-known that charities from religious organizations actually spend very little of the money that they collect on the charitysometimes 30% sometimes as little as 10% and it is well-known that nonreligious organizations have a much higher percentage of money go towards the charity's objective

J2P2 set the course of the Roman Catholic Church on the road to irrelevancy. Ratzinger simply stepped on the gas. His successor will be appointed by guys who were appointed by him and his predecessor, and will add a supercharger. And I reckon within this century the RCC will be a fringe cult. I'd like to think extinct, but there's a great deal of inertia in billions of believers.

I was raised Roman Catholic. I was a pious altar boy. None of the wise and witty parish priests I knew ever buggered me. But as I near 60 my contempt for the RCC is . . . absolute.

BTW, My Lady, an Ohio Protestant girl, appreciates the Byzantine Court on steroids garb that the popes still wear. She does fabric and design, you see.

The author of the original comment to which you responded seems to have inadvertently fallen victim to--or, you know, intentionally used--the well-known "No true Scotsman" logical fallacy. That is, making an assertion, then dismissing any and all counterexamples because they contradict that assertion. Like this:

Person A: "No Catholic would ever molest children, or cover for those who do."

Person B: "Well, there have been and are apparently hundreds, maybe thousands, of pedophilic Catholic priests--and there's ample evidence that folks at the very highest levels of the Catholic Church know about it, and have done absolutely nothing aside from repeatedly lie and obfuscate."

Person A: "Well, then, they're not true Catholics, for no true Catholic would ever molest children, or cover for those who do."

It's obviously a comforting bit of denial for those trying desperately to cling to their silly, childish, and unfounded superstitions--but it certainly does boggle the mind of any thinking person, doesn't it?

In 1979, an 11-year-old German boy identified as Wilfried F. was taken on a vacation trip to the mountains by a priest. After that, he was administered alcohol, locked in his bedroom, stripped naked, and forced to suck the penis of his confessor. (Why do we limit ourselves to calling this sort of thing "abuse"?) The offending cleric was transferred from Essen to Munich for "therapy" by a decision of then-Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, and assurances were given that he would no longer have children in his care. But it took no time for Ratzinger's deputy, Vicar General Gerhard Gruber, to return him to "pastoral" work, where he soon enough resumed his career of sexual assault.

I agree completely with your assessment, Hump. The "sins" of this particular religious establishment are gross and egregious, and the supernatural mumbo jumbo is not a necessary function for performing charity and good works, at least not in the 21st century. Maybe they went hand-in-hand 2000 years ago, but not now. I'm still left with this question. Since there are no perfectly moral human institutions, how much corruption is tolerable in an institution that otherwise does do good works? Our own government comes to mind. Where do we, as people trying to do the right thing, draw the line on mistakes made by otherwise good organizations?

I still think that something is up with this resignation; something big. No really, I smell a Ratzinger. They speak of his exhausting schedule ... bullshit, he's the pope and can make his own schedule. In fact, he doesn't have to make any public appearances; he can just stay in the Vatican until he dies or they kill him. Now he's going to make a farewell tour? He has enough energy for that but not just to be Popesy Wopesy? The smell of bullshit fills my nostrils on this one.

Oh, and about those crackers you speak of, Bart... after watching the documentary Mea Maxima Culpa (holy shit!!!) I started weaving my way through strange Catholic concepts on Wikipedia and found this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharistic_adoration Makes cargo cults seem quite rational in comparison.

Steve: yes, I've heard of that incident. The Raz's hands are filthy with neglect of his duties as head of the Congregaton meant to oversee priestly misconduct. He is as bad as the worst molester.

Longhorn: for the faithful the most invested in the supernaturalism of the Church, no amount of corruption will ever be enough to turn them away. Just as fanatic patriots will say "My country right or wrong", and who to this day defend genocide ofthe American Indians - so too will there always be religionists to whom the horrors of the Church barely register. Extremist non-think is a scarey thing.

Sue..yes,Mea Maxima Culpa was a read eye opener, and kickin the pants to the Church. Loved every minute of it. That link looks like an interesting article. I'll check it out. Thanks!

Den!s..I agree, there seems to be more to it than simple aging and frailty. I wonder if HBO's "Mea Maxima Culpa" could have played a part in the Pope's decision to bail out.

I drink to that! Now you can too.

Befriend a Camel...

About Me

DROMEDARY HUMP, The Atheist Camel,is the alter-ego of BART CENTRE, a lifelong freethinker, atheist activist and the author of "The Atheist Camel
Chronicles: Debate Themes and Arguments for the Non-Believer,"
and "The Atheist Camel Rants Again!"
A Vietnam veteran and “atheist in a foxhole,” he was awarded the Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, and Army Commendation medal. He is a
retired senior vice president of a national retail corporation
and holds a BA in psychology with a minor in religion.
Mr. Centre is the creator of the Eternal Earth-Bound Pets post-Rapture pet rescue spoof website
which has received worldwide attention and acclaim.
A lifelong New Yorker, Mr. Centre now resides on his "camel ranch" in New Hampshire with his much-put-upon and saintly “quasi-Episcopal” wife of forty-three years and his two atheist dogs. He has two grown, freethinking sons.

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